Bursting with superb photography and exquisite room drawings, a sumptuous showcase of interior decorating ideas and trendsetting design details that add rich character to any home, by one of America's brightest decorators. Full-color photographs and drawings throughout

A guide to party planning shows how to select invitations, themes, menus, table settings, music, lighting, flowers, and decor for weddings, holiday parties, formal dinners, and cocktail parties.

A Passion for Painting aptly describes Roger Dale Brown and his life-long fervor for artistic excellence. Evan a casual visit to his studio will unveil his dedication and commitment for painting. Eye-opening massive landscapes stand on his easel and adorn the walls, waiting for transit to eager gallery owners and collectors from Maine to Montana. Looking around, the viewer is drawn not so much by the detail as by the subtleness of design and colors on canvas.These pages are embellished with over 200 images from the brush of one of America's premier landscape artist - Roger Dale Brown. Although his Southern heritage emerges throughout this book, he equally embraces the culture and ambience from other places, then interprets the scene with his signature mixture of oil paint. No matter where the book is opened, the journey through script and illustration are alluring. "The artist's ultimate aim should be to evoke the mood of a strand of time" Roger reflects. "I use the scene as a platform to create from, instead of being literal to it. God mad us creative. If we are being literal to a scene and do not interpret with our own voice, we are depriving ourselves of using the talent given to us to its greatest capability."Follow Roger as he travels through like, exploring regions of this country and abroad. The paintings he renders are tributes to his craftsmanship, an artistic voice that is clearly A Passion For Painting.

For nearly six decades Barbra Streisand has been one of the singular figures in American entertainment. From the cabaret to the Broadway stage, from television and film stardom to her acclaimed work as a director, from the recording studio to the concert hall, she has demonstrated that the extraordinary voice that launched her career was only one of her remarkable gifts. Now, in her first book, Barbra Streisand reveals another aspect of her talent: the taste and style that have inspired her beautiful homes and collections. My Passion for Design is her account of the creation and consturction of her newest home—the dream refuge she has longed for since the days when she shared a small Brooklyn apartment with her mother, brother, and grandparents, and a culmination and reflection of her love of American architecture and design from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Whether she is seeking an elusive shade of blue for the paneling in a Federal lounge, tracking down a contemporary woodworker who was able to recreate the exquisite Greene & Greene style, or choosing the roses to harmonize with both the interior and exterior of a given room, Barbra's perseverance and attention to detail are remarkable—and remarkably engaging. She is a wonderfully witty storyteller as well as a knowledgeable and charming guide. My Passion for Design contains not only Barbra's own photographs of the rooms she has decorated, the furniture and art she has collected, and the ravishing gardens she has planted on her land on the California coast, but memories of her childhood, and insights into the development of her own sense of style. The millions of fans who have cherished her voice as a singer will find that she has an equally inimitable and compelling voice as a writer. Here is a rare and intimate private tour of the world of one of our most beloved stars, which will be welcomed by her fans and all lovers of the great achievements of American design.

Rana Sterling finally finds the man of her dreams and BOY does he know how to push all the right buttons. Only, Mr. Tall, Dark and Too-Good-to-Be-True turns out to be just that; he's a real live, fanged vampire! Lucian Trevane has a duty to fulfill. He's expected to take the role of Vit?, leader of the vampires in three days. But he knows he won't take the position without his wife by his side. Now, after seventy years of searching for his reincarnated fianc?, he finally finds the woman of his dreams in Rana Sterling. Rana may respond to his lovemaking, but she refuses to become his vampire wife. As if their lives aren't complicated enough, throw in a vengeful vampire, a surprise twist, and the fact Rana and Lucian can't deny the strong attraction that exists between them and you've just stepped into A TASTE OF PASSION.

Get teens excited about reading by using your own love of books along with a good dose of market savvy. This simple, upbeat guide is packed with practical guidelines and a wealth of exciting ideas for promoting books and reading through everything you do—from collection building, designing the space, and creating a Web site, to booktalking, readers' advisory, and special events. A practical, step-by-step approach. Promoting books and reading is one of your most important roles, but reaching teens and inspiring them to read can be a challenge, especially now, when teens have so many other commitments and interests. This guide will inspire you to build your book knowledge and combine it with marketing savvy to bring teens together with books and reading. Drawing upon recent research on teens and libraries, the author offers practical guidelines and a wealth of exciting ideas for environmental reading promotions (collection building, designing the space, creating publicity materials and developing the web site), as well as interactive promotions (communication with teens, readers advisory, booktalking, partnering with other organizations, and book-related activities and events). Based on the author's experience and the experience of others who work with teens, the book provides librarians and other educators with a simple, handy, and upbeat guide. Grades 6-12.

Donald Worster's A Passion for Nature is the most complete account of the great conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club ever written. It is the first to be based on Muir's full private correspondence and to meet modern scholarly standards, yet it is also full of rich detail and personal anecdote, uncovering the complex inner life behind the legend of the solitary mountain man. It traces Muir from his boyhood in Scotland and frontier Wisconsin to his adult life in California right after the Civil War up to his death on the eve of World War I. It explores his marriage and family life, his relationship with his abusive father, his many friendships with the humble and famous (including Theodore Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson), and his role in founding the modern American conservation movement. Inspired by Muir's passion for the wilderness, Americans created a long and stunning list of national parks and wilderness areas, Yosemite most prominent among them. Yet the book also describes a Muir who was a successful fruit-grower, a talented scientist and world-traveler, a doting father and husband, and a self-made man of wealth and political influence. The winner of numerous book awards, A Passion for Nature was also named a Best Book of 2008 by Washington Post Book World. It is the first comprehensive biography of Muir to appear in six decades.

The passionate history, art, and design of over 500 antique, vintage, and contemporary purses were chosen from private collections and from Cora Ginsburg LLC, the premier dealer of antique textiles and costume in the United States. Many have never been published before, providing a fresh resource for collectors. Chapters cover the history of purses and every major style made as well as unique and very rare examples. Each caption provides detailed descriptions and current values, and the extensive bibliography gives many resources for further reading.

"In A Passion for Mars Andrew Chaikin, who covered Mars exploration as a science journalist and took part in the first Mars landing, chronicles this epic quest and the enduring dream of going to Mars. Based on first-person interviews and animated by the author's own passion, this is the story of Earthbound explorers and their robotic surrogates caught in the irresistible pull of the Red Planet." "A Passion for Mars is illustrated by spectacular photographs - many rarely seen and presented in unprecedented quality - sent back by four decades of robotic explorers, and visionary artwork that renders our Martian future."--BOOK JACKET.

A history of the Olympic Games, starting with their inception in Ancient Greece and leading up to the 1936 games in Nazi Berlin.